Warm Thanksgiving brings new records

With a warm Thanksgiving weekend this year came two high temperature records for November at the Ekalaka weather station. Weather data for this station have been collected since 1896.

November 22, the day before Thanksgiving, showed a high temperature of 65 degrees, which topped the 63 degree record for that date recorded in 1954. The next day, Thanksgiving this year, showed a very comfortable 67 degrees, also a record. This bested the previous 61 degree record posted in 1984.

The official Weather Service thermometer showed a high of 63 degrees on Sunday, but while very pleasant, did not beat the 66 degree record set for that date in 1998.

As a postscript, the overall top temperature for the month of November at the Ekalaka station was set on November 2, 1909, with a toasty 78 degree reading. At that time, the Ekalaka Eagle, which began publication on January 1, 1909, was nearing the end of its first year in business; and it's founder, Oscar Dahl, had just turned 20 years old only two months before. Both the weather station and the Eagle have served the community for over a century.